We were approached recently by ASAE (the association for association people) to spend some time on the phone with their job seeking/ career transitioning members. It was advertised to the members as "20 minutes with an executive recruiter at no cost to them". (Wow, what a deal!) We were asked to counsel them on their resume, job search strategies, salary negotiations, and how to deal with "headhunters" like us, among other things.
While we are retained by employers to find employees, from time to time we get these "critiquing" requests. Most of the individuals I spoke with had ties to the association/ not-for-profit world. It was easier, based on experience, to give them advice and potentially have them as candidates for a search down the road. Others I spoke with were with corporations, so my advice was more general and off the cuff based on their resume. Below are a few suggestions/ pointers I found myself giving...some new, some standard.
1. Consider adding your profile to LinkedIn if you are not already there. It's free and you can join interest groups. Also, recruiters have profiles on there and I know they look for candidates on there as well.
2. Become more active in a committee/interest group in those professional associations/ volunteer organizations you list on your resume. Consider a committee where you can learn new skills or enhance the ones you have. Be strategic about it.
3. Use the phone. If you see a job listing you are interested in that looks old or you have a general question about it, call the organization, ask for someone in HR (or the recruiter) and ask. Be curious and you will get to tell them your name. Don't forget to get their name as well. Bonus points if you get direct contact information. Best to call in the morning or towards COB.
4. Though you should have a 30 second elevator speech prepared, everyone else has one too. Add something interesting about yourself or something cool you've done lately to it (raised $5,000 for a 2 Day walk to support breast cancer, attended South by Southwest Festival, had a purple ticket to the inauguration AND got in, etc.). Chances are you will be better remembered.
5. Have multiple resumes. (I prefer them written in chronological order w/ most recent first) At least one should be geared towards your current industry/line of work. Another should place more emphasis on your skills in the event you are applying for a position in a different industry. And do have one comprehensive ("master") resume for historical purposes. The one you send to recruiters/hiring managers should be a shorter version of this. Remember, you only get ~30 or so seconds of review time. Make it count.
6. Consider adding no more than 2 to 3 sentences at the top of your resume that summarize your qualifications. They usually begin with something like "Industry professional with X years of experience in....Proven track record of..."
Implement some of these and hopefully results will follow!
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